A pn junction is formed at the boundary between a P-type and N-type semiconductorcreated in a single crystal of semiconductor by doping, for example

by ion implantation,diffusion of dopants, or by epitaxy (growing a layer of crystal doped with one type of dopant on top of a layer of crystal doped with another type of dopant). If two separate pieces of material were used, this would introduce a grain boundary between the semiconductors which severely inhibits its utility by scattering the electrons and holes. PN junctions are elementary "building blocks" of most semiconductor electronic devices such as diodes, transistors, solar cells, LEDs, andintegrated circuits; they are the active sites where the electronic action of the device takes place. For example, a common type of transistor, the bipolar junction transistor, consists of two pn junctions in series, in the form npn or pnp.

The proton is a subatomic hadron particle with the symbol p or p+ and a positive electric charge of 1 elementary charge. One or more protons are present in the nucleus of eachatom, along with neutrons. The proton is also stable by itself. Free protons are emitted directly in some rare types ofradioactive decay, and result from the decay of free neutrons from other radioactivity. They soon pick up an electron and become neutral hydrogen, which may then react chemically. Free protons may exist in plasmas or in cosmic rays in vacuum.

The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol n or n0 , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen,nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of protons in a nucleus is the atomic number and defines the type of element the atom forms. Neutrons are necessary within an atomic nucleus as they bind with protons via the strong force; protons are unable to bind with each other due to their mutual electromagnetic repulsion being stronger than the attraction of the strong force. The number of neutrons is the neutron number and determines the isotope of an element. For example, the abundant carbon-12 isotope has 6 protons and 6 neutrons, while the very rare radioactive carbon-14 isotope has 6 protons and 8 neutrons.

A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow (as opposed to ionic conductivity) intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a 3 8 conductivity roughly in the range of 10 to 10 siemens per centimeter. Semiconductor materials are the foundation of modern electronics, including radio, computers, telephones, and many other devices. Such devices include transistors, solar cells, many kinds of diodes including the light-emitting diode, the silicon controlled rectifier, and digital and analog integrated circuits. Similarly, semiconductor solar photovoltaic panels directly convert light energy into electrical energy. In a metallic conductor, current is carried by the flow of electrons. In semiconductors, current is often schematized as being carried either by the flow of electrons or by the flow of positively charged "holes" in the electron structure of the material.

In solid state physics, a band gap, also called an energy gap or bandgap, is an energy range in a solid where no electron states can exist. In graphs of the electronic band structure of solids, the band gap generally refers to the energy difference (in electron volts) between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band in insulators and semiconductors. This is equivalent to the energy required to free an outer shell electron from its orbit about the nucleus to become a mobile charge carrier, able to move freely within the solid material. So the band gap is a major factor determining the electrical conductivity of a solid. Substances with large band gaps are generally insulators, those with smaller band gaps are semiconductors, while conductors either have very small band gaps or none, because the valence and conduction bands overlap.

In the field of electronics, doping is when an impurity is added to a semiconductor. This is done to create things that make electricity go in one direction or to make semiconductor switches. This allows for computers to exist.

N-type semiconductors are a type of extrinsic semiconductor where the dopant atoms are capable of providing extra conduction electrons to the host material (e.g. phosphorus in silicon). This creates an excess of negative (n-type) electron charge carriers.

A P-type semiconductor (P for Positive) is obtained by carrying out a process of doping: that is, adding a certain type of atoms to thesemiconductor in order to increase the number of free charge carriers (in this case positive holes).

An extrinsic semiconductor is a semiconductor that has been doped, that is, into which a doping agent has been introduced, giving it different electrical properties than the intrinsic (pure) semiconductor.

An intrinsic semiconductor, also called an undoped semiconductor or i-type semiconductor, is a pure semiconductor without any significant dopant species present. The number of charge carriers is therefore determined by the properties of the material itself instead of the amount of impurities. In intrinsic semiconductors the number of excited electrons and the number of holes are equal: n = p.

a conductor is a material which contains movable electric charges. In metallic conductors such as copper or aluminum, the movable charged particles areelectrons (see electrical conduction). Positive charges may also be mobile in the form of atomsbound in a crystal lattice which are missing electrons (known as holes), or in the form of mobileions, such as in the electrolyte of a battery, or as mobile protons in proton conductors employed in fuel cells. In general use, the term "conductor" is interchangeable with "wire." Insulators are non-conducting materials with few mobile charges and which support only insignificant electric currents.

valence electrons are the electrons of an atom that can participate in the formation ofchemical bonds with other atoms. Valence electrons are the "own" electrons, present in the free neutral atom, that combine with valence electrons of other atoms to form chemical bonds. In a single covalent bond both atoms contribute one valence electron to form a shared pair. For main group elements, only the outermost electrons are valence electrons. In transition metals, some inner-shell electrons are also valence electrons.

A covalent bond is a form of chemical bonding that is characterized by the sharing of pairs ofelectrons between atoms. The stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms when they share electrons is known as covalent bonding.

A true insulator is a material that does not respond to an electric field and completely resists the flow of electric charge. In practice, however, perfect insulators do not exist. Therefore, dielectric materials with high dielectric constants are considered insulators. In insulating materials valence electrons are tightly bonded to their atoms. These materials are used in electrical equipment as insulators or insulation. Their function is to support or separate electrical conductors without allowing current through themselves. The term also refers to insulating supports that attach electric power transmission wires to utility poles orpylons.